LEEDS: England strengthened their grip on the first Test against Pakistan on Thursday, reaching 239-4 at tea on the second day to take a 68-run lead after a rain-delayed start at Headingley.

Harry Brook was unbeaten on 15 and Dan Lawrence on 22 at the interval, with England having moved to 239-4 in 54 overs after Pakistan’s bowlers finally made breakthroughs following a dominant opening session.

Play began late because of rain, with England resuming on 112-2, 59 runs behind Pakistan’s first-innings total of 171. Joe Root was 37 not out and Jordan Cox 23, with the pair having added 64 unbeaten runs on the opening day.

The two continued their resistance after play got under way, taking England past Pakistan’s total and into a position of control before Pakistan struck twice in quick succession.

Cox, who was playing at number three in place of the injured Jacob Bethell, reached his maiden Test half-century and continued to score freely before Ali Usman finally ended his innings. The spinner turned one sharply past Cox’s defence and the edge was taken by Mohammad Rizwan, bringing to an end a 100-ball innings containing 14 fours.

Cox’s dismissal came at 198-3, and England lost their captain four balls later.

Root, beginning his second stint as England’s full-time Test captain, was trapped lbw by Khurram Shahzad for 66 off 112 balls. The ball jagged back after pitching outside off and struck Root below the knee roll. He reviewed the decision, but ball-tracking confirmed that all three stumps were in line.

The back-to-back wickets gave Pakistan a glimpse of an opening after England had dominated for much of the innings. But Brook and Lawrence settled quickly, adding an unbeaten partnership that carried England through to tea.

Brook survived a chance early in his innings when Salman Agha, standing at second slip, could not hold on to a sharp opportunity off Khurram. The England batter then negotiated a testing spell from Mohammad Abbas before Lawrence began to find his range.

Lawrence, playing his first Test in two years, struck Khurram for two boundaries in the 48th over, including a well-timed drive through cover and a classic on-drive. He later clipped and drove his way to 22, while Brook remained unbeaten on 15.

Pakistan had begun the day with an opportunity to put England under pressure, but the delayed start and the continuing partnership between Root and Cox initially made that difficult. Root reached his 50 with a boundary off Mohammad Ali, while Cox had earlier brought up his maiden Test half-century with a four off Abbas.

Their partnership was a continuation of the stand that had rescued England from a difficult position on the opening day.

England had been reduced to 48-2 on Wednesday after Pakistan’s attack made early inroads. Ben Duckett fell for 15 and Emilio Gay for 33, but Cox and Root then took charge.

Cox, promoted to number three because of Bethell’s injury, played with increasing authority, repeatedly punishing anything overpitched or drifting towards his pads. Root provided his customary control at the other end, accumulating through singles and precise strokes while waiting for scoring opportunities.

The pair’s 150-run partnership transformed England’s position before Pakistan finally broke through in the closing stages of the stand.

England’s strong position had come after Pakistan were bowled out for 171, with pacers Ollie Robinson and Josh Tongue sharing all 10 wickets between them.

Robinson, recalled after recovering from fitness problems, claimed 5-51 in 18 overs, while Tongue took 5-46 in just 9.1 overs. Robinson became the first bowler to take a wicket with the first ball of a Test series in England and completed his fifth five-wicket haul in only his 22nd Test.

The two pacemen even shared the match ball, having it sawn in half as a souvenir after both completed five-wicket hauls.

“As we were walking off Tonguey said, ‘I think we should split it’. I was like, ‘yeah, we should actually do that, I think it’d be quite cool’,” Robinson said. “I said, ‘do you reckon they’ll be able to do it?’ and within five minutes they brought it back up and it was done. It’s something we’ll never forget really and it’s not too often two guys get five in the same innings, so it’s a nice gesture and something to remember.”

Robinson’s performance was particularly significant after fitness problems had disrupted his return to international cricket. He had taken a career-best seven wickets against New Zealand earlier this summer before suffering a knee problem that ruled him out of the following Test.

“It was frustrating not to be able to play at the Oval,” he said. “I’ve just worked really hard on a bit more fitness and a bit more skill, so it’s nice when it comes off on days like today.”

Pakistan’s Abdullah Shafique, who top-scored with 61, acknowledged that England had played the better cricket but said Pakistan remained focused on striking early.

“They played some good cricket today but we will try to take early wickets tomorrow, the wickets of Root and Brook are key,” Abdullah said after the opening day.

His 61 and Imam-ul-Haq’s 42 were the only substantial contributions in Pakistan’s 171 as England’s seamers exploited the conditions to put the hosts in command.

Scoreboard

PAKISTAN (1st Innings) 171 (Abdullah Shafique 61; J. Tongue 5-46, O. Robinson 5-51)
ENGLAND (1st Innings, overnight 112-2):
B. Duckett lbw b Abbas15
E. Gay c Salman b Ali33
J. Cox c Rizwan b Usman73
J. Root lbw b Khurram66
H. Brook not out15
D. Lawrence not out22

EXTRAS (B-4, LB-8, NB-3)15
TOTAL (for four wickets, 53.6 overs)239
STILL TO BAT: J. Smith, O. Robinson, G. Atkinson, J. Archer, J. Tongue
FALL OF WICKETS: 1-36 (Duckett), 2-48 (Gay), 3-198 (Cox), 4-202 (Root)
BOWLING: Abbas 18-5-54-1 (1nb), Khurram 15-1-82-1 (2nb), Ali 12-1-53-1, Usman 8.6-0-38-1

Published in Dawn, August 21st, 2026